Coaches' salaries slashed in NFL lockout cost-cutting

By Jon Saraceno, USA TODAY

Many NFL head coaches and their assistants are upset and frightened because they face serious potentially daunting financial repercussions — plus threats of retribution if they reveal internal policy — after some teams instituted salary reductions following last week's lockout.

By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Packers coach Mike McCarthy will have his salary cut during the NFL lockout.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy will have his salary cut during the NFL lockout.

Simmering resentment and growing dissatisfaction with some owners eventually might lead to unionization of assistant coaches, Larry Kennan, the executive director of the NFL Coaches Association, told USA TODAY. The rattling of that labor saber is not new, but more assistants are unhappy these days because teams have reduced benefits, including several eliminating what were once mandatory league pensions, Kennan said.

Kennan said at least 13 NFL teams have immediately docked their assistant coaches 25%-50%, or have language in their contracts that enable them to do so.

"I never have seen as many coaches who are angry and scared," he said Wednesday. "Ownership really has taken a hard line on (slashing salaries). In several cases, (teams) have said, 'We will fire you if we find out that you've told anyone what we're doing.' It just isn't right."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the slashing of coaches' salaries underscored how important it is for the league and NFL Players Association to resume negotiations for an agreement to end the lockout.

"Everyone involved – players, team staffs, and league office staff – are forced to sacrifice in this type of unfortunate situation," Aiello said.

He added, "It is interesting to note that the NFL Coaches Association is based in the office of the players' union that abandoned collective bargaining."

Most teams are not being specific in divulging their financial contingency plans regarding non-player personnel. But the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers announced that coaches, scouts and front-office personnel — including head coach Mike McCarthy, president Mark Murphy and general manager Ted Thompson— will have their pay reduced an unspecified amount until the labor dispute ends.

"All the talk has been about the players and the owners, but the coaches are right up there with them in importance," said Kennan, a former assistant for 16 NFL seasons. "We're talking a major hit.

"At this point, in March, the owners aren't losing money. The players get paid during the season. (Although) they may be missing some roster bonuses, they aren't missing any salary. (But many) coaches are."

About eight teams have told their coaches they will not face salary cuts until August, Kennan said. Another dozen or so have plans for reductions in pay after the 30-, 60- and 90-day junctures, if the labor impasse is not resolved, he said.

In most cases, coaches will recoup lost salary, provided there are no games lost in the 2011 season. However, that does not make Kennan, or the coaches, any less disgruntled.

"That's the rich borrowing from the 'poor' — taking our money to pay their bills and then reimburse us with no interest," Kennan said.

Salaries for all coaches have escalated dramatically during the last decade — faster than that of players — and especially so for assistants. Coaches and agents now regularly share contract information to give them more leverage in negotiations with teams.

One NFL owner who helped fuel the rise in compensation for assistants is Dan Snyder of the Washington Redskins. For years, the franchise boasted the highest-paid set of assistants — including multiple coaches who had yearly seven-figure deals — in the history of sports.

While there is a wide range of salaries for NFL assistants — "anywhere from $25,000 to $2 million," Kennan said — the average is $350,000 to $375,000, according to the Coaches Association.

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